EXTRA POINTS: High Energy Heels Give Seminoles A Fight

Tar Heels Fall To No. 15 Florida State, 40-14

November 18, 2002 | Football

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Nov. 18, 2002

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Anatomy Of A Road Trip

By Lee Pace

C.J. Stephens

Through all the losses, through the miserable second halves that seemed to last into December, through the 80-yard touchdowns thrown over the Tar Heels, through the backseat coaching in the bleachers, John Bunting has remained nothing if not positive. Last week he pulled out a cap with the words "ALWAYS POSITIVE" stitched across the front and showed it to his team and to the news media at his weekly press briefing.

"That's what I'm all about, guys," he said.

Saturday morning, Bunting put the finishing touches on his breakfast and elaborated.

"You don't have a thing without that," he said. "What I don't want these guys to do is cash it in. I want them to play hard. In order to do that, they've got to stay upbeat, they've got to get excited about stepping onto that field every single day."

Bunting had just finished showing the Tar Heels a video tape of some 35 clips from last year's 41-9 pounding of the vaunted Florida State Seminoles. His wife Dawn went through that game and picked out sterling efforts by players returning from the 2001 team -- not the departed Ronald Currys and David Thorntons and Julius Peppers, but the Jeb Terrys and Issac Moorings and Sam Aikens.

There was Aiken making a catch and diving over the pylon for a touchdown.

There was Terry pounding a Seminole into the ground and keeping after him.

There was Mooring batting a pass and making a sack.

There were special teams players like Brandon Russell and DeFonte Coleman charging downfield with abandon.

"That was a good confidence-booster for a lot of guys," defensive tackle Chase Page said.

"We played them before and beat them," center Jason Brown added. "A lot of guys contributed in that game. Coach showed us history and wanted us to repeat history."

Times like these are the ones when head coaches earn their paychecks. The assistants watch the boss carefully. The players watch carefully. The fans and media watch carefully. Any sign of panic (read: John Mackovic at Arizona)? Any deer-in-the-headlight looks? Any wavering in principle or drive?

Not with this guy. All you get is a ferocious competitor and bright individual scheming with every morsel of gray matter to keep his players fighting for two more weeks -- no matter how disheartening this 132-19 collective pounding from Wake Forest, Maryland and Clemson over the last month has been.

"Last night I challenged them," Bunting is saying. "I told them one of two things would happen -- they would be energized or paralyzed. One of those two things usually happens when you face a challenge like we have today. We played with a ton of energy last year. I want to see that today. Playing with energy is what it's all about. That and playing smart. If you play with energy and play smart, good things can happen. I talked to them about changing their thinking, raising their standards just a little. I want to reset the bar."

The result eight hours later after a dank and dismal afternoon at Florida State's Doak Campbell Stadium was not a surprise. The Seminoles hit the Tar Heels with some quick shots at the end of the first half and early in the second half and coasted to a 40-14 victory.

What was different this week was the energy and fight and performance the Tar Heels exhibited. At least no one was embarrassed after this loss. Bunting used that very word after the Maryland demolition two weeks ago, and Terry tossed it out after the Clemson pounding last week. Instead, the Tar Heels made some big plays on defense and moved the ball well at times on offense. They made some incremental steps back toward respectability. At least this score was tied after one quarter at 0-0. Make a play on a ball in the air near halftime and maybe you go into intermission trailing only 10-0 instead of 17-0.

"I'm very proud of the way our players gave effort today," Bunting said afterward. "They battled all the way. It wasn't pretty. There's nothing like getting a win, and we didn't get one. It's very frustrating. Those kids did play hard, they played aggressively. Our coaching staff called an aggressive game. We had our chances. It's amazing to me what might have happened if we made some plays in the first half with some balls in our hands. That's the difference sometimes between a good team and a bad team."

Bunting was referring to having cornerback Kevin Knight and linebacker Malcolm Stewart in position to make interceptions of Seminole QB Adrian McPherson, a scary Oscar Davenport look-a-like with a live arm and great speed. But neither Knight nor Stewart could hold onto the football. At least, however, they made nice breakups. The Tar Heel defense had a handful of those, which was a major improvement over the last two weeks. Derrick Johnson had two breakups. Freshman Cedric Holt had one breakup playing his first significant chunk of time and showing why Bunting's been so high on him of late. Safety Dexter Reid and Johnson blitzed frequently from the secondary, with Johnson notching a sack and Reid a break-up after being blocked to the ground and getting back up and pursuing McPherson.

"I think we played better this week than previous weeks, particularly our defense," Terry said. "I think they stepped it up, they played well, they gave the offense some opportunities, especially in the first half. But we couldn't capitalize. I'm proud of the defense. I think it's going to be a big turning point for the next game and next year."

"Any time you give up 40 points, you don't feel good," added Page. "But you take away about three plays, and it's a different game. I'm proud of the way we played. We played with good effort. We shut them down at times. But big plays and penalties cost us. It was the same old stuff."

Quarterback C.J. Stephens withstood a ferocious assault from the always-potent FSU pass rush, with senior Alonzo Jackson giving left tackle Willie McNeill the challenge of his young playing life. Carolina doubled Jackson frequently with a back or guard, but still he was in Stephens' face all day. Stephens took only two sacks but was hit frequently.

Still, Carolina chopped out 359 yards total offense and an average of 4.5 yards a snap. That's the Heels' best offensive effort in a month and came in the face of horrible field position. Carolina did not get one turnover and had only one productive play from its return game, that being a 30-yard punt return by Jarwarski Pollock. That return gave Carolina its only possession starting past midfield. On its 13 other possessions, the Heels had an average starting point of the 16 yard-line. Meanwhile, more than half of the Seminoles' drives started at their 45 or better.

This is not about getting a moral victory in a 26-point loss. As Terry said, "We came here to win. You can't go into a game thinking, 'Just don't let them kill you.' We came here to win, to fight. You've got to make every game like that. If you don't think you can win, there's no point in even practicing."

But it is about getting better. Bunting et al can build off the small victories on certain plays to build toward a last-game stand against Duke. The Tar Heels have won 12 in a row against the Blue Devils, and keeping the Victory Bell in Chapel Hill and avoiding a winless ACC season would be tiny victories.

"It's been very hard to remain positive, but we have no other choice," Brown said. "These losses are something we have to overcome. We have to overcome adversity every day. We get slapped in the face over and over. We turn the other cheek and get slapped again. My face is sore and bruised. It's a learning process. You'd best believe we're going to work as hard as we can so that we will not repeat this season."

SQUIB KICKS -- FSU had hoped to pound the Heels by a worse margin than the 32-point drubbing the Heels put on the Seminoles last year. They came just a few points short. "They embarrassed us last year," said Bryant McFadden. "We wanted to get the big payback." *** Bunting indicated he was enthused by the play of reserve QB Matt Baker, who completed three-of-nine passes for 55 yards, including a 14-yard TD, and that Baker could start this week against Duke. "I liked a lot of his throws," Bunting said. "They were right on the money. He had really good mechanics, really good set-up and poise."

*** Defensive tackle Carl Smalls has been suspended from the team indefinitely for disciplinary reasons. Defensive back Bryant Macklin has left the team, also for disciplinary reasons.

Many Tar Heel fans enjoyed Lee Pace's FANStore and assorted other locations on Franklin Street. To order by phone, call (800) 554-6862.

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Lee Pace, Carolina '79
Editor & Publisher
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